Wood Carving
by Lunadora
Summary: Follow Gwyn, the red haired female dwarf, as she becomes friendly with the royalty, without knowing the dark future that lies ahead.
1. Chapter 1

Tolkien didn't create a lot of females for his stories. Well, what can I say? I find it easy to create OCs. They're overflowing, so I had to write this.  
Warnings ahead:  
*Using book references for the years, this fanfic will cover the period from 2760 up to 2942 from the third age.  
*The main character is a female dwarf (as you might have guessed already).  
*As much as I don't want to anger the book readers, this will follow more the movie lines.  
*I will do my best to avoid spoilers, but I'm human. So there might be one or two spoilers around.

And that's all for now. Enjoy your reading!

* * *

Every dwarf that lived around those parts worked and lived in the lonely mountain. All but a few that made their lair at Dale, the men city founded right at the mountain's feet. It was in one of those few dwarf families that lived there that she was born. Her parents called her Gwyn and she was as beautiful as a female dwarf could be. Her auburn hair was her most catching feature. Gwyn was growing up fast for her age but her hair seemed to grow even more. Her eyes looked like two almonds and she smiled easily. To everyone around her she was the sweetest girl around but her parents knew better than that, and everyday when she would come back home from playing outside she'd have a new surprise. That day she was taking longer than what she used to, and they were starting to get worried when they heard a knock on the door.  
"I'll get it," her father said, though the mother looked over his shoulder and was scared to death when she saw it was one of the soldiers from Erebor.  
"Did something happen with my child?" She said, jumping from her chair.

They didn't know yet but earlier that day Gwyn was playing by the outskirts of Dale when she saw two other kids. Dwarf kids, just like her. And she followed them up without thinking. They buried something and turned around quickly, then curiosity took the best of her and she unburied it, just to find a ring inside a box. She was going back to show it to her parents when a guard stopped her, asking about the contents in the box. And even though jewelry was a common thing around Dale, the guard recognized the ring as the King's under the mountain's possession and _arrested_ her.  
"I find it hard that a kid would steal something so important," Thror had said, and one of his soldiers was instructed to talk with the girl, find out where she lived and get her parents to his presence.

"She might be a little troublesome, milord, but she wouldn't steal," her mother defended her.  
Gwyn was scared but one of the young dwarfs in there put his hand in her shoulder and pressed it while she looked up to him, confused.  
"Don't worry, everything will be fine," he reassured her.  
And even though the girl didn't know him she felt the truth in his words and nodded. It was then that she saw them: the two dwarf children that had buried the box. Not wanting to interrupt the adults conversation she looked up to the young dwarf again and he returned the gaze, which was enough for her to point to the other two.  
"The box was buried by those two," she whispered.  
The young dwarf looked to the direction she was pointing and, when he saw the two, he smirked.  
"Wait here," he said, letting go of her shoulder.  
She watched him walking up to Thror and talking silently with him and then go back her way. But instead of stopping by her he continued walking towards the other two kids and, when called, they followed him.  
"Come with me," he instructed, pushing her by her back towards the throne.  
"Seems like my grandchildren gave you a lot of trouble, my dear. If there's something I could do for you to forgive me," Thror said, and Gwyn felt puzzled, "just say the word. And you two, apologize."  
The two apologized in unison and left the throne room as fast as lightning when they were allowed to. Gwyn didn't say anything other than "Can I go home now?" And the adults in the room laughed at the sad situation they had been put through.  
"Yes, you may go child."  
Her parents lead her to the exit, but she looked back to meet the young dwarf's eyes again. So she waved, to what he replied with a single bow of his head.

"For a second I thought you were really guilty, dear. I'm so sorry," her mother said, hugging her as she readied herself to go sleep.  
"You pamper her too much, that's why you get those doubts in your head," the father said, clearly angry. "If you ever see someone burying something never, NEVER unbury it again, is that clear?"  
She nodded.  
"And don't get close to royalty. I don't want us getting involved in problems. It would be bad for business," he finished saying as he shut the door behind him after leaving the room.  
Gwyn laid on the bed and her mother caressed her hair. She was almost giving up to the dream land when his face came to her mind and her eyes wide opened again.  
"What's wrong, dear?"  
"Who were all those people from today, mom?" She asked.  
Then her mother sighed and sat by the side of her bed, rubbing her chin.  
"The old man who talked with you first was our king, Thror. There were also a lot of soldiers, but they all wore the same uniform, so I think it isn't hard to recognize them. Then there was Thrain II, son of Thror."  
"But what about the kids?" She asked.  
"Oh, right, they're Thrain's sons. Thorin is the oldest and was the one who was keeping a hold of you, then there are the younger ones, Frerin and Dis. Probably they did it to get the adult's attention," the mother explained, wondering if there was someone else who was worth mentioning.  
"It would be good to be friends with them," Gwyn said as she yawned. "Good night mom."  
"It would be better if you didn't, but I won't be the one who will forbid you to make friends," the mother said, pressing a kiss on the girl's temple before leaving the room.

The next day, without realizing it, Gwyn was once again at the outskirts of town, looking at Erebor.  
_"It is so big that I feel I could reach it if I just reached my hand to it,"_ she thought. It took her one second longer to notice someone was coming that way from Erebor, and not knowing why but doing it anyway she jumped to her feet and hid behind a crate close by.  
The one coming that way was the young girl, _"Dis"_, she reminded herself, _"but what is she doing here?"_  
As if answering her question the other girl looked around before leaving a flower with a folded piece of paper and running back the way she came, as if it was another of her mischiefs. Overwhelmed by curiosity, Gwyn waited until the other was far enough before walking up to the flower and the folded paper before opening it to read it. Until she realized she didn't know how to read.  
"Darn it," she cursed under her breath.  
It wasn't like she could just grab the paper and the flower and bring it home, she'd be scolded by her parents, for sure. And removing those things from its place could put her in trouble once again. Still, she thought she really wanted to know what was written in the paper, so she took it and ran to the market of Dale. There were lots of humans in that city and she wondered if any of them would be able to read the note, so she mustered her courage and walked up to one of the stalls where she used to go with her mother to buy food.  
"Excuse me," she started, but she was too small and the man didn't see her, so she walked to the other side and tugged the man's shirt.  
"Oh, hey, I remember you," he greeted. "Are you on an errand for your mother today?" He asked, pointing to the note on her hands.  
"Actually, I found this, but I don't know how to read so I don't know what to do with it," she said, shifting on her feet.  
"Well, may I?" He asked with his hand open to receive the note.  
Gwyn didn't have that many choices, so she handed it to him and watched as he finished reading the note and scratched the back of his head.  
"Well, it simply says _'I'm sorry'_. Did you have a fight with someone?" He asked.  
She just shook her head, feeling a bit happy. _"Then it was really for me,"_ she thought, as the man gave her the note back. "Thank you very much sir," she said as she turned her back, ready to leave, but then she remembered a small detail. "If you could, please don't tell about this to my mother."  
And before the man could say anything else the girl was running between the people on the street, back to where she had found the note. She didn't know how to write but she could draw pretty well, so she returned to where she found the note, grabbed a wooden stick and started to draw on the ground. Two kids and a wooden toy that she had.  
"I just hope she will understand this," she mumbled to herself as she gave a last look to her drawing before turning back to go home.


	2. Chapter 2

A friend told me, after reading the first chapter, that she wanted to imagine Thorin smirking. Please remember that this Thorin is from before the desolation of Smaug, so he doesn't have a reason to worry. Yet. This chapter will develop the friendship between Gwyn and the royalty, but mostly with Dis. Enjoy!

* * *

The rain that fell from the sky on the following day was like a sign. A sign that she shouldn't do that. She had been warned by her parents, there was no place for a commoner between such important people. But Gwyn thought about it on the other way.  
_"The drawing will last longer on the mud,"_ she thought as she ran to draw again. _"Maybe I can even find her there!"_  
But the other girl was nowhere to be found when she got to the outskirts of town, panting from running all the way there. Not letting that bother her she grabbed a stick and started to draw again. And it was fun, so she walked around making all kinds of drawings until a voice took her attention.  
"These are beautiful."  
It was Dis. And Gwyn smiled her way.  
"Took you long enough to get here. I thought you wouldn't come anymore."  
"You were waiting for me?" Dis asked, a shy smile forming on the corners of her mouth.  
"Yup. Here!"  
Gwyn got another branch from a tree nearby and gave it to Dis before returning to her drawing, decided to finish it.  
But Dis didn't know what to do with it. She shifted in her feet as she watched Gwyn finishing a drawing that looked like the marguerite she had left with the note.  
"I don't know how to read," Gwyn said, honestly. "So whenever you want to leave me a message, you better draw," she said, finishing the last petal. "You know how to draw, right?"  
Dis shook her head vigorously and Gwyn couldn't help but laugh.  
"What kind of kid doesn't know how to draw?" She said, jokingly. Though the answer was obvious to her now.  
While she spent time drawing and playing with the other kids from Dale the princess was studying how to read, write and other things that royalty should know. And that made her a bit jealous.  
"Here, I will help you," she said, holding Dis hands over the stick. "Now, name a thing and we will draw it."  
"It can be anything?" Dis asked, hopeful.  
"It'd be better if you started with something simple," Gwyn answered, and the princess looked a bit disappointed, "but yeah, anything," she added in a rush.  
"Then I'd like to draw a horse!"  
"What is a horse?"  
And this time when Dis laughed at her for not knowing what a horse was, Gwyn couldn't help but laugh too.

A couple days had passed and Dis brought Frerin along with her.  
"He wants to learn how to draw too," she had explained, and the three of them had spent a lot of time that day just by drawing and trying to guess what the others had drawn.  
"It's getting late, I need to go now," Gwyn said, looking at the sun's position.  
"Isn't it a bit early?" Dis asked.  
"I have to buy some things for my mom on the market," Gwyn explained. And she was surprised to see them getting excited at the mention of the word _market_.  
"Can we go too?" They asked in unison, and Gwyn thought it wouldn't be too much of a trouble if they did go along.

Though she was wrong. Her father was on the market too. _"Probably taking measures for his next work,"_ she thought, being cautious to sneak around him. Dis and Frerin didn't know why they were sneaking around but they found it all too exciting to argue or complain.  
The ingredients she needed were to make some sweet bread for their breakfast. Usually her mother would go and buy them herself but she had been busy cleaning the house that day and asked Gwyn to buy the ingredients for her. It was a responsibility and Gwyn felt good about doing it.  
"How do you remember everything you have to buy if you don't have a list of it?" Dis asked while they waited for the man to weigh the flour.  
"She always bake them, so I pretty much remember the ingredients from memory," Gwyn said, poking her own head twice with her index finger. "I will try to bring one for you two tomorrow," she promised.

"Mom could you make some extras?" Gwyn asked while helping her mother to prepare the dough.  
"Why?" Her mother asked without thinking.  
Gwyn remembered her father warning about making friends with royalty and pondered for a second. Only a second.  
"Because I want to give some to Dis and Frerin," she said honestly, looking to her mother with the corner of her eyes, waiting for her reaction.  
And her reaction, Gwyn thought, was one of the funniest that she had ever seen. At first she agreed readily and continued to knead the dough. Then she stopped. Gwyn even poked her mother's nose with her hand all covered with flour and no reaction. And suddenly she screamed.  
"Mother you'll startle the neighbors," Gwyn said, not really worried with the neighbors but mostly with her father.  
"Did I hear you right? Because I think you said Dis and Frerin but those are the names of the son's of Thrain and they don't even live around. Are you sure you didn't make a mistake? Aren't they for someone else?"  
Her mother shoot the questions one after the other, her voice frantic and with a bit of desperation in it. Gwyn sighed, wondering if it was wrong to believe her mother would understand.  
"No. They're coming to the town outskirts everyday and we're playing together. They were with me at the market while I bought the ingredients, so they were curious and I promised I'd bring some tomorrow," she explained. Then she paused and looked straight into her mother's eyes. "Did I do something wrong, mom?"  
The woman seemed to ponder a lot on her words and even so, in the end she didn't get to say anything. She just nodded and smiled.  
"Then that makes two extras, right?"  
Gwyn smiled back.

But when she went to the town outskirts on the next day the only one there was Dis. She gave her the one that was meant for her and decided to eat Frerin's share since he wouldn't come.  
"He's training," Dis explained.  
"Training?" Gwyn asked, confused. "Training what?"  
"His combat skills. He's not the oldest son, so the chances that he will be the next king under the mountain are very slim. Still, he said he wants to continue serving Thorin when the time comes, so he joined the training sessions."  
"Sounds hard," Gwyn said, almost feeling guilty for eating his share now that she knew the reason he couldn't come.  
"Yes, I'm sure he would like this. It is too good," Dis said, taking the last bite of it.  
"Do you think I could visit Erebor?" Gwyn asked, curious.  
"You could try," Dis said with a smile. "I surely would like to see you coming visit for a change."

Some time after that Gwyn asked her mother if she could make a whole batch of sweet breads for them and, when questioned about why she explained she planned to visit the royalty. Her mother laughed and joked with her a lot because of it but helped nonetheless. And on the next day she left before breakfast heading to Erebor.

She thought everything was fine until she got to the entrance and was halted by two guards. Straightening her back she puffed her chest and mustered her courage.  
"I've come to visit princess Dis and prince Frerin."  
At first the guards laughed at her face and she pouted. A minute later they noticed she was serious since she wasn't leaving. And after a little longer one of them decided to go inside and bring someone to deal with the girl.  
The one who came was an old dwarf with long, grey beard and an easy smile. It didn't look like it but she would find out later he was pretty important.  
"This dwarf told me you wanted to see Dis but when I asked he didn't know what to answer so," he sighed and smiled again, "why do you want to see her?"  
Gwyn didn't think twice and showed him her basket, filled with sweet bread.  
"We talked about visiting, so I came to visit."  
For Gwyn it was normal to go and visit a friend. She could do that with almost all of her friends back in Dale. But with royalty? Things didn't work like that at all. And even though the old Dwarf was inclined to believe in her… what if the bread was poisoned?  
"May I have one?" He asked, pointing to the basket, and when Gwyn nodded with her big, bright smile, the old dwarf was almost sure that it wasn't a treat. But he still took one. "Well, follow me then. I will lead you to where the princes are."


	3. Chapter 3

...By the way, I just noticed I didn't tell you guys what Gwyn father's work is, right? Don't worry, once revealed a lot of things will make sense.  
I didn't give the sweet bread a description because I didn't want to go overboard with it, but please keep in mind that their size would be small. There was bread back in middle earth, that much I know, so I'm sure they could make sweet bread too. Or so I hope. Anyway, enjoy your reading!

* * *

When you are a dwarf that live in Dale, between the humans, it is normal to think that everything is big. The streets are big, the buildings are big, the people walking down the street are, most of the time, big. But when Gwyn stepped in Erebor the word _big_ started to have other concepts. She had been there once and she still remembered that day, though now she didn't regret unburying the ring any longer, but at that time she paid little to no attention to its beauty. The stone inside the halls had a beautiful green color that shone with the lights from the golden torches. She had only a brief moment to admire the throne from a distance when the old dwarf in front of her took another bridge. She followed right behind him, bowing her head to whoever the old dwarf did, until they finally got to the training hall. There she saw him for the second time.  
Thorin was training with Frerin and all the others were watching. She'd think they'd cheer one of them but there was a dead silence, only the sound of the clashing of sword and axe. Not too far from where they were, Dis was leaning on a stone pillar, watching silently.  
"Milady," the dwarf called her, and she looked up to him. "This girl said she came to visit you but it seems like she didn't know the place, so I brought her," he said, watching how they'd react.  
"That sure was a surprise, Gwyn!" The princess said, giving the other a hug.  
"Look," Gwyn said, showing the basket. "I brought some sweet bread. And this time I think I have enough for all of us."  
Dis grabbed one for herself and another one, that she offered to the old dwarf.  
"Thank you milady, but I've eaten one already," he said happily.  
"You ate it even before I did? So smart of you, Sir Balin. Well, she's with me now. I'll take care of her, so you may resume your duty."  
That was enough for the dwarf to give a bow and turn on his heels, back from the way he came. Gwyn was still watching him go when she heard Dis shouting Frerin's name. She turned right in time to see Thorin taking the chance to get him off guard and using a movement of his sword to knock off Frerin's axe. Frerin cursed as he walked up to where Dis was but the girl didn't mind it and waved to Thorin, calling him too, though the other seemed a bit reluctant to leave the training ground, whatever the reason for that was.  
"Why did you call me then? I was about to disarm him!" Frerin said, angry, before Dis shoved a sweet bread into his mouth.  
"Gwyn came all the way here to bring us some sweet bread. Eat more and talk less. And don't forget to be thankful."  
And while Frerin ate the bread it was like his anger extinguished completely. Thorin arrived not too long after Frerin took a second one from the basket.  
"What is this?" Thorin asked, looking to the basket hesitantly.  
"Sweet bread," Dis said with a smile. "Grab one and try it, I'm sure even you would like it."  
And Thorin did, though his expression was unreadable, so Gwyn had no idea if he had liked it or not. That is, until he grabbed another one.  
"I'll go back to training," he said as he looked to his siblings, and when he turned to Gwyn she straightened her back. "I assume you're the one who brought them since my sister doesn't know how to cook a thing. Thank you."  
And as he bowed his head she bowed too, raising it just in time to see what seemed like a shy smile on his lips.  
_"He smiles just like Dis,"_ she thought, while the other girl shouted angry words at him for his comment on her cooking.  
"But he's right, you know," Frerin said, taking another one. "The last time you said you'd cook you burnt the whole meal. Only our father tried to eat it and even him couldn't eat more than a serving."  
"Shut up," she pouted, looking back into the basket. "Do you think we should give one to father too? Maybe he'd like that."  
"If he doesn't scold us for being friends with her, that is," Frerin said without thinking.  
But it was the truth. It wasn't only Gwyn's father that was worried. They were from the Durin's lineage, one of the most powerful that ever walked on middle -earth. They didn't have any idea of how their father would react.  
"It is worth a try," Dis decided, taking the basket and leading the other two around, stopping from time to time to ask the soldiers if they had seen her father.

They walked all the way to where the treasure room was and, in a chamber right before it, they found them: Thrain and Thror. Drinking beer and having a heated conversation about orcs. Dis was the one who called for them and the two melted in smiles for her when she entered the chamber.  
"My friend brought us some sweet bread and we decided to bring you some," she said, putting the basket over the table, between their cups of beer.  
"Thank you dear," Thrain patted the girl's head. "But who is this friend?" He asked, looking to Gwyn being dragged by her hand for Frerin.  
"I remember her," Thror said in a merry tone of voice. "She's the ring thief!"  
The three kids couldn't help but to feel a bit tense, but Thror was laughing warmly while Thrain watched Gwyn, curious.  
"So, what's your name, kid?" He asked.  
"It is Gwyn milord," she said, bowing deeply.  
"Right, Gwyn," he repeated her name, as if to not forget. "You're welcome in Erebor. Feel free to play around, just be careful not to get lost," he joked.

Though he was joking Gwyn felt the truth in his words when she was dragged once again by Dis and Frerin, who had decided to show her the treasure room.  
"We used to play hide-and-seek here," Frerin said. "But now Thorin is always too busy to play and just the two of us is boring," he explained.  
"We have Gwyn to play with us now though!" Dis said, excitedly.  
So they agreed on playing hide-and-seek in the treasure room. It was very spacious and it had piles and piles of gold.  
"I will search first," Gwyn said. "You two go hide. But don't go too far, I don't want to spend the whole day looking for you two!"  
Now, dear reader, if you've read the books you might remember something very peculiar about dwarfs: they're unable to move around without making too much noise. That was exactly the case with the kids, so it didn't take long for Dis to find her brother buried under the pile of gold behind her and Gwyn behind the one as far as she could go up to the counting of _ten_. Frerin wasn't so observative so when it was his time to search - because he had been found first - Gwyn found herself admiring all the gold around her. Until a ring picked her interest, so she grabbed it and rubbed it on her fingers.  
_"It is so beautiful,"_ she thought, wondering if anyone would miss it if she brought it with her. _"With so many gold all around, I doubt it,"_ she decided, putting the ring inside her pocket right before Frerin shouted "Found you!" from behind her.  
"Did you see where Dis hided?" He asked, excited for having found the first of them.  
"If I told you it'd be cheating. Keep searching," she said, and when he dashed to search for his sister behind another pile of gold a thought crossed her mind. _"Now I'm really a ring thief."_

It was Gwyn's turn to search when Thorin showed up at the entrance of the treasure room. She didn't notice him when he approached her, and when he put a hand on her shoulder she jumped.  
"What are you doing all by yourself in the treasure room?" He asked, his face was all serious.  
"Oh, I'm not alone," she said, realizing that by the looks it _did_ seem like she was. "We're playing hide-and-seek. It is my turn to search," she said, proudly.  
"We don't have that much time," he said, stepping forward and cleaning his throat.  
"It is lunch time!" He said out loud. And as if it was magic, the two young dwarfs popped up from behind two piles of gold.  
"Lunch!?" They asked, and Gwyn didn't miss the chance.  
"Found you!" She shouted, laughing.

They had roasted pork for lunch and Gwyn watched with a bit of horror as the older dwarfs ate. In fact, eating is a way to put it. Some would say they were devouring it.  
"Don't you like the food, Gwyn?" Dis asked while chewing some meat.  
"It is not that," she shook her head. "But I've never ate with so many people around," she said.  
"You should come everyday, Gwyn," Frerin said after swallowing some of his drink. "And bring some more bread too," he suggested.  
"I don't think that would be a good idea," Gwyn said, thinking about how hard it'd be to hide the fact she was friends with the royalty from her father if she did come to Erebor everyday from now on. And when she was done eating Dis invited her to play more, though she refused to.  
"I should go back home now. It's a long way from Erebor to Dale and I should get home early today," she explained.  
"Should I get you to the town outskirts then?"

When Thorin proposed that Gwyn was really happy but the other two princes didn't agree to it.  
"You call too much attention, Thorin," Dis started.  
"And outside Erebor you get lost too easily. It'd be no good," Frerin added, raising from his chair. "_I_ will get her home."  
"I can go by myself, you know," Gwyn finally said, and the commotion faded a bit, though the royalty did accompany her to the gates.  
"Come back again whenever you feel like visiting," Thrain said as he shuffled her hair.  
"We will meet tomorrow to play some more," Dis whispered while hugging her.  
So Gwyn waved her byes to them before turning her back to Erebor and walking straight back home. Back to Dale.


	4. Chapter 4

If someone from here likes Thorin as much as I do, I'll advise you to read the Oakentoons from PeckishOwl on DeviantArt. I'm taking some of my ideas from there. Like the fact that Thorin gets lost too easily ANYWHERE that is not Erebor. And since we're on the subject, prepare yourselves to say goodbye to Erebor since this chapter is all about the desolation of Smaug. Enjoy your reading!

* * *

"I can't believe you forgot it," her mother scolded her.  
Gwyn didn't make it on purpose, but once she realized she had forgotten the basket she used to bring the sweet bread to Erebor _at_ Erebor she was already half way back in Dale. It'd delay her to go back and get it, so she just hoped her mother wouldn't ask about it and she'd go visit Erebor on the next day to get the basket back. But the first thing her mother asked her once she put her feet inside the house was "Where is my basket?" and there was no way she could turn back and get it now.  
"Let's hope your father doesn't miss it," she had finally said before turning back to the kitchen to prepare dinner.  
But Lady Luck smiled to Gwyn that day, and her father arrived so exhausted at home that he barely talked while they ate dinner.  
"Gwyn," he started when he had finished eating. "I want you to come with me to work tomorrow."  
And suddenly, Gwyn felt that Lady Luck had abandoned her.

Gwyn woke up early the next day and ran to the town outskirts with a bucket of water. Splashing some on the dry land she grabbed a stick, drawing a person that she wanted to represent herself and making a big **X** over it, as well as the drawn of a basket and an arrow to another drawing that she wanted to mean her house. If Dis and Frerin came to play as Dis promised she wouldn't be there, and she'd feel bad for making them wait. But mostly important, she needed the basket back.

"You're doing it wrong," her father scolded her, hitting her hand with the side of his ruler. "It is not about the strength, it is about the right way to do it," he grabbed the sandpaper and showed her how to do it once again. He had given up on counting how many times he had scolded her and the back of her hand was starting to get red.  
"I don't know why I need to do this," she complained, rubbing the back of her hand.  
"Because I have too much work to do," he started saying, stopping and handing her the sandpaper. "And I won't be here forever."  
"You look fine to me," she said, trying to focus more on the work but still feeling useless. "And it is not like I ever tried doing it."  
"You're my only daughter," he said, looking straight into her eyes. And for a split second she felt his worry. "You need to learn the job so you can support yourself and your mother," he averted his eyes from her, turning back to the big, round table he was finishing to polish.  
"But why now?" She asked, curious.  
"I can't explain why, but I have a bad feeling," he said, honestly. "And it is better if you learn it now than never."  
Gwyn sighed, pulling a good wad of hair behind her ear before focusing on the work. It wasn't really that hard but her hair was long and heavy, so it didn't stay put for too long. Her father did notice it at some point so he stopped his work and instructed her to turn back, braiding her hair as best as he could, though he was no expert on it.  
"Thanks," she said, feeling happy.  
"Don't mention it," he turned back to his work. "Just keep helping me, you hear me?"

That afternoon, when she and her father returned home from the work, the basket was still missing, and this time her father noticed it. When he asked Gwyn couldn't help but to confess about what she had done, preparing to be scolded or even worse.  
"We will talk about that tomorrow," he told her, "For now, let's eat dinner and go sleep. We still have work to be done."

If you know Lady Luck as well as I do you're aware that one day she smiles to you and, on the next, she takes everything from you in a swift movement. That was what happened on the next day. Gwyn went to the town outskirts to wait for Dis and Frerin, hoping one of them would bring the basket along with them. And they would if they hadn't seen **_it_** from afar and went running back to Erebor, warning whoever they could. The dwarfs in there didn't believe them until they heard the horns from Dale, but then it was a little bit too late. The dragon was coming.

At Dale things seemed like a slow motion movie. The sounds of arrows being shot was heard but all the important ones missed the target, even though the target was so huge. Mothers started to run around the town, looking for their children as the dragon crushed and incinerated the buildings on his way. When the horns were sounded the dragon was already over them and a lot of people didn't know what to do anymore, other than run.  
It was when Dale's horn was sounded that Gwyn finally turned around to look at the city. And at first she thought there was nothing wrong until she heard the screams. Jumping on her feet she felt a cold shiver run down her spine.  
"Father," she mumbled as she started to run, though she didn't have to run too far to see the first signs of destruction.  
She found them not too far from her house and gave a sigh of relief when she noticed they both seemed fine, though her father had a lot of bruises.  
"We need to get out of here. Now!" The father instructed.  
"But what about everything we have?" The mother asked, a little desperate. "We can't leave everything behind!"  
"We can!" The father said firmly while holding his wife's arms tightly. "And we will. We have to run to Erebor. The king under the mountain will aid us."

That's what he believed, but Erebor was the dragon's target from the start. Dale was merely a toy. A cheap toy that a spoiled brat destroys, just for the pleasure of destroying it before turning to the main attraction. And the main attraction was the gold under the mountain.  
Thorin had seen the dragon too from a distance so he did warn the soldiers from his side of the mountain to hide when the first fire breath came fuming between the stone pillars. He ran to the gates with as many soldiers as he could gather to try and protect it but one swing of the dragon's tail sent most of his companions flying over the hall.  
"Run, sir!" One of them shouted. "Run and save your life!"  
Those were his last words and Thorin didn't stay to watch more.  
"Run!" He commanded, and as many of his people followed him out of the gates.  
That's when he saw them. Elves.  
"Here!" He shouted and waved his arms, a small flame of hope being born inside of him again.  
But the elves didn't move. Not towards the mountain at the very last. And Thorin watched as they turned their backs and marched away.  
It is at this point that most of the dwarfs of Dale started to join the ones that were fleeing from Erebor.

"Thorin!"  
Amidst the chaos from their scape Thorin never got the chance to find his family. They found him though once they all stopped at what they believed to be a safe distance from the mountain, mourning over their loss. Dis was the first one to come and hug him.  
"I was so scared," the girl said, hugging him and crying.  
"What will we do now, father?" Thorin asked.  
Thrain didn't know either, so he turned to Thror. The king under the mountain had lost his kingdom. That was a hit that hurt him hard and deeply and he was at a loss, just like everyone else. Though his people looked up to him. Looking at their faces he had to try and be strong.  
"We march," he said. "Nowhere will be like Erebor, but we must stick together and fight."


	5. Chapter 5

Prepare yourselves for twenty years of nothing. Absolutely nothing. In the movies twenty years of nothing can pass by in the blink of an eye, or in the scene where Thorin is forging a sword. But not here, nope. I hope a bit of Middle-Earth tourism will make you guys happy, because that's pretty much what we will do in this chapter (and a few more) to cover those twenty years. As always, enjoy your reading! And grab a map of Middle-Earth, you'll need it!

* * *

_Fight_, he said. That's what the lineage of Durin was good at. But for the dwarves that lived in Dale it wasn't such an easy task. Disarmed and helpless they could only follow Thror.  
Lucky for them, their leader also knew about the risks of going anywhere disarmed and unprepared, so they marched east towards the Iron Hills, where Gror was waiting already.  
"Where are we heading to, mom?" Gwyn asked.  
"That's the way to the Iron Hills, I presume," her mother told her, trying to keep her cool.

Gyn was worried. After so many days marching she still hadn't seen Dis, Frerin or Thorin at all, though she could hear the other dwarfs talking about the king, so she hoped for the best. It was only when they had finally arrived at the Iron Hills, sad and tired, that she decided to look for them.  
"You may go, dear," her mother allowed her, "but don't go and get lost. I will wait you here at the gates, so there's no way you won't find me. Come back here after you get to know how they are."  
"I got it already," she said, walking in a fast pace around the other dwarfs, that were starting to get accommodations, food and medicine for those that needed it.

That's when she saw the old, grey bearded dwarf from Erebor, the one who had taken her to Dis. She did remember his name but he was talking with another dwarf, a bigger, bald and furious dwarf. It startled her when he noticed she was looking their way and she felt like running back to her mother when he shouted something along the lines of "What are you looking at?" but the ruckus did one good thing for her, and that was the old dwarf turning around and seeing her.  
"Oh, I remember you," he said, his warm smile always present. It didn't even seem like he was tired. "You're the princess' friend, right? Did something happen?" He asked, hesitantly.  
Gwyn shook her head and shifted on her feet before finally asking it.  
"I haven't seen Dis after the dragon attack, so I'm worried," she said, looking down to her hands before turning her gaze to the old dwarf. "Is she alive, at least?"  
Balin was touched. He patted her head and smiled once again.  
"She is alive, yes, and I could say that she is better than most. Don't you worry with her, I'm sure you two will meet again soon."  
That calmed her worries down but then she felt the urge to ask about Thorin and Frerin too, though Balin had turned his back to her and was talking with the other dwarf again. The other saw her curious eyes and rolled his eyes, pulling Balin's shoulder so he'd face her again. Confused, the old dwarf sighed but smiled.  
"Is there something else that you need?"  
"No, it is okay," she said, giving up on asking anything else and turning her back to run to where her mother was.

"We can't stay here forever," were Thrain's words after they had been accommodated at the Iron Hills. "This place isn't big enough for so many dwarfs, and we can't put so much over his shoulders."  
"Don't worry," Thror calmed him down, though in his mind he already had an idea of what to do. "I will talk with Gror in the morning and then we will decide about what to do."

And that was exactly what they did. Gror and Thror were siblings and the way they thought was pretty much the same, though when Thror told his brother about his plans, the other couldn't help but worry.  
"We already tried to take those mountains back, you know it is impossible. Things must look even worse now," he warned.  
"Just give me some good soldiers. And weapons for the dwarfs that came from Dale. I will take them this time, you will see."  
"I don't think you will," Gror warned," but I will help you with what I can. I will supply you with food, weapons and even some soldiers, but you must promise me that if you get to a point that you can't go on, you will come back here."  
"I will take them back," Thror said again, stubbornly, "and then I will send your soldiers back with the riches we get from there."

That afternoon Gwyn's father had been called for another dwarf that Gwyn didn't know and when he came back he was fully armed.  
"Wow," she said, "You look great, father!" She said, excitedly.  
Though her mother was crying and her father's face was bitter. She didn't know then but all the dwarfs that could fight, be them males or females, kids or adults, from Durin's lineage or not. They all would march on the next morning. But Gwyn didn't know that. She only realized it on the next morning when she finally saw Dis again and the girl was crying, all by herself, outside the gates.  
"What's wrong, Dis?" Gwyn asked, sitting by her friend and rubbing her back.  
Dis didn't answer at first. She did hug Gwyn though, and continued crying for a couple more minutes while Gwyn tried to calm her down.  
"All of them are gone," she said. "I'm all by myself."  
"You have me," Gwyn said, and for a second Dis smiled her shy smile before more tears rolled down her face.

The Grey Mountains were their destination.  
When Smaug had attacked Erebor Thror couldn't help but feel like a deja vu. Thror lived there with his siblings, Gror and Fror, as well as with his father, Dain I. Their mines were great and had lots of metals and gems, so their lives was peaceful and fortunate. That is, until an Ice Drake attacked the mountain, killing Dain I and Fror. He fled from the mountain with his brother and their people, though at some point they went separate ways. He settled at Erebor while Gror had settled at the Iron Hills. And now he had to run back to his brother for aid because once again, a dragon had taken their mountain.  
His hopes were all settled at the Grey Mountains and at first it wasn't hard to fight the orcs that were found roaming it. But as they moved further away the hordes of orcs were getting bigger, numerous and ferocious. It took him a lot of time to give up on the Grey Mountains but in the end he did. Just like his brother had foreseen. And he went back to the Iron Hills.

_"I told you so,"_ was what Gror wanted to tell him now, though he knew the hard time his brother was going through.  
"Where should I go now?" Thror had asked, realizing that there were not many places where he could run to now.  
"Nowhere." Gror finally said, tired. "Just stay here for some time. Your soldiers must be tired and I'm sure the kids will be happy to see their parents together," he added.  
"Maybe you're right," Thror said, knowing how much Thrain had missed Dis while being away.

While they talked, somewhere in the Iron Hills, two small dwarf girls were happy. Their fathers had come back safe and sound. Or mostly.  
"I'm back," Gwyn's father had said, giving her a tight hug.  
Her mother gave him a peck on his nose before helping him sit down. He seemed fine but his left leg was injured.  
"I really hope this is the last time I will have to fight with orcs," he confessed. "I am not fit for that."  
"We could stay here in the Iron Hills, couldn't we?" The mother asked.  
The father didn't answer. That was not their home and even though Gror had been really nice to all the people that fled from Smaug it still wasn't the place they'd call home.

Some years had passed by and Gwyn was seen Frerin and Thorin less and less, since both of them had focused totally on the combat training. She couldn't even see Dis as much since she had to help her father even more now that he had his leg injured. They did see each other once a week at least though, because Dis had decided she'd teach Gwyn how to read at least. And even though it was a slow process they were making some progress. Every night Gwyn would look at the ring she had stolen from the treasure pile back in Erebor and knowing the fate of the mountain made her feel guilty for keeping it.  
_"I should give it to Dis someday,"_ was what she always thought. But she never had the courage to actually give it back.  
Gwyn learnt how to braid her hair by herself and in one of her birthdays her father gave her a wooden barrette with carved dwarfish runes.  
"This is beautiful," she had been in awe once she saw it, and he helped her to put it on for the first time.  
"Your hair is really beautiful, it is a shame it has to be tied like this so you can help me with work," her father told her, bitterly, but trying to hide it with a crooked smile. "I thought that at least you could use something beautiful to keep it tied then."  
"And I'm really glad about it, father," she said, giving him a hug. "I'll treasure it."

Not much more time had passed by after her birthday when Thror had decided that it was time for his army to march again. He didn't want to say it out loud but the Iron Hills weren't big enough for the two brothers. Gror had felt it too so he didn't try to stop his brother.  
"And what are your plans now?" Gror asked.  
"South," Thror answered, serious. "There's nothing left for us in the west."  
There was. The Mirkwood forest was sitting on the west between the mines of Moria and Erebor. It'd be easier if they just crossed it _if_ the king under the mountain hadn't heard from Thorin about their betrayal.  
"South it is, then," Gror nodded. "I will prepare the supplies."


	6. Chapter 6

One might think that marching south would be a piece of cake. It doesn t have anything to block the path, so it must be easy, you might say.  
Wrong. Let s find out more about the south of Erebor, and how complicated relationships can be.

* * *

By supplies Gror meant mostly food, weapons and water. A small group of warriors from the Iron Hills decided to follow Thror until he found a mountain to call his own, but only so far. And even so, most of them thought that this was more than he deserved.

They left the Iron Hills heading south, following the Redwater River until they could cross it. Not too far from there they could stop for some time at the East Bight, though Thrain had to convince his father to stop there for the kids and the females. It was Dis' pleading that convinced him that they really needed the rest. And so they camped.

"Are you alright father?" Gwyn asked her father, who had been rubbing his leg for some time already.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine," he replied seriously. "Go help someone or do something productive," he instructed her.

She was walking near the woods when she saw a branch that gave her a good idea. Getting a knife from her bag, she started to give the wood some shape. Her idea was to turn it into a cane for her father, so he wouldn't need to stop marching with the others when his leg started to hurt. It was something that bothered her from time to time that whenever his leg was hurting he tried to endure it. The shaping of the branch was almost done when she heard some loud voices, one of them that she knew pretty well. Following the voices she overheard their arguing.

"You shouldn't have told him about the elves!"

"I should. They betrayed us the moment they turned their backs to us."

"I can't believe you will be the king I will have to follow someday," Frerin said, turning his back and readying himself to go back to his tent.

"That's why you will never be the king. You're too weak."

Frerin wasn't too far away and, as soon as the word *weak left Thorin's lips he grabbed his axe, pointing it at Thorin.

Though it wasn't necessary for him to make any threats. Gwyn had came out of her hiding spot and dashed towards Thorin, punching him right in the face.

"You shouldn't be talking to your brother like that!" she scolded him. "He always looks up to you, so if you can't say anything good to him at least don't be so mean."

Turning her back to Thorin she grabbed Frerin's hand and pulled him away. The guy didn't even try to argue, afraid that she might punch him as well. She had a firm grip on his hand though he could feel how shaky she was. When they finally stopped Frerin got freaked out as Gwyn just collapsed on the floor, crying.

"I punched him," she mumbled, covering her face with her hands. "He must hate me now."

Frerin couldn't think about anything to do for Gwyn other than calling Dis to solve the situation, so shortly after leaving her, the siblings came to her aid.

"Why are you crying Gwyn?" she asked, crouching beside her.

"I punched Thorin," she told the other, sobbing.

"I'm sure he deserved it," Dis patted her shoulder. "Come on, what happened?"

After hearing the question Frerin silently left the place, knowing that if Gwyn didn't scold him when she had the chance, Dis wouldn't let it slip away. And Gwyn told what she overheard.

"Well, I must confess I am a bit pissed off at the elves' attitude too," she confessed, rubbing her chin. "You can't blame Thorin for being like that. He is pretty hot-headed, you know. He probably knows he deserved it, so don't worry yourself so much. He won't hold anything against you because of it, I'm sure of it."

Gwyn wanted to be relieved after hearing what Dis told her but she simply couldn't. She wasn't afraid that he could ask for some kind of reparation for it, but that he could start hating her because of it. Dis helped her to get up and the two went back to where the others were camping. And as soon as the food smell invaded her nostrils she managed to forget everything. There was only one thing she could think about: how hungry she was.

The next day Gwyn found a smiling Frerin waiting for her for breakfast.

"I wanted to thank you for taking my side. I didn't have the guts to tell you yesterday. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," she said, trying to avoid thinking about the punch and failing miserably. "You're my friend. And he was being a jerk."

"I know," Frerin said, walking beside her while looking to the sky, hands behind his head. "But I kind of understand him too. I wish I had your courage to punch him instead of raising my axe to him," he said, his voice filled with regret. And Gwyn finally understood what needed to be done.

"We should go apologize to him then. That might make us feel better."

Frerin agreed to the idea, though neither of the two walked towards the royal camp. Their destination was breakfast, and after eating they went separate ways.

Though camping near the Mirkwood Forest was pleasant and they didn't have troubles getting food, a lot of dwarves were starting to feel uncomfortable being so close to the elves.

"They didn't come to our aid," was what they whispered.

And slowly but surely the whispers got to the king's ears, who decided that it was about time to leave. It was around that time that Gwyn had finally finished giving the cane some proper shape, so she was preparing herself to give it to her father when he showed up.

"Thorin," she mumbled.

Neither of them seemed to be very comfortable with the situation. Gwyn wanted to apologize but her eyes were caught in his. They were as blue as the morning sky and once he set them on her, she felt paralyzed. The silence started to bother him, so he cleared his throat.

"You seem to know my younger siblings very well. And you seem to know me too, though I don't remember you, and that's bothering me. Who are you?"

"Gwyn," she said, still unable to stop looking into his eyes. "I'm really sorry."

"What for?" He asked, raising a brow.

"For punching you," she said simply. "But Frerin is a very good boy and he really admires you. I just didn't want you to hurt him with your words," she confessed, her eyes finally leaving his to meet the ground.

There was some silence before the sound of footsteps. She lifted her head just to see him standing right in front of her, her heart skipping a beat.

"What is this?"

"A cane," she told him once she saw that he had pointed to it, giving it to him.

"It doesn't look like a good weapon," he said, thoughtful.

"It's not a weapon," she explained after laughing. "It is for my father. He was injured in the Grey Mountains so now he has a hard time walking. I thought this could help him when his leg bothers him."

"Shouldn't you make it of iron? Or some other metal?" he asked, giving it back after inspecting it with curiosity. "It would be more durable."

"Wood is durable too, Thorin. You probably don't know it since you've lived your whole life surrounded by metals. But wood also has its worth."

"If you say so," he added, looking to the side, as if trying to find something. "Anyway, keep being good friends with my siblings. That's what I wanted to ask you. Don't let what happened keep you away from them."

"If that's what worries you, then be at ease. I won't."

Thorin gave his usual shy smile and bowed his head before leaving her. She stood there, watching his back for a while. Tightening her hold on the cane she also turned her back and decided to go back to her father. He'd need that cane sooner than she thought.

After giving her father the cane she had started to help her mother to get ready to go, though she could see her father carving runes in the cane she had given to him. At some point she found herself standing beside him, watching his work.

"Shouldn't you be helping your mother?" he asked, stopping his work and looking to her.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I wish I knew how to do this too."

Her father smiled like she hadn't seen him smiling for a long time and when he hugged her, she felt warm.

"I will teach you then. Let's take the chance and grab some wood. We don't know how long it will be until we have the chance to have good wood to work with like this."


End file.
